“We cold from a God-fearing household. The Bible in our living room was always open on the same verse. We just was poor as shit, which caused all this other drama.”
Demetrius “Big Meech” Flenory was born on June 21, 1968, and Terry “Southwest T” was born on January 10, 1970 in Southwest Detroit.
Growing up poor in Detroit with little to no options other than to get an education, they decided that they would make their way by getting money. By the early 70’s Detroit became disenfranchised and many families were living paycheck to paycheck.
Meech went out and ventured off in the streets while Terry stayed in school trying to fly straight and narrow. They both eventually dropped out of High School.
Meech came across Edrick “E.D.” Boyd, the Cocaine plug who was raised in New York and migrated to Detroit. E.D. took a liking to Meech because of his confidence and ego at 15 years old.
Southwest T, E.D. and Meech.
Meech and Terry were best friends with a kid named Derrick, who went by Dmeeks. Dmeeks is potrayed as B-mickie in BMF. Dmeeks grew up with the Flenory Brothers and when Meech told him they found E.D. he asked to join them; Meech brought Dmeeks on board.
These three were the 50 Boyz. Meech was the lieutenant and answered to E.D., Terry was the brains and planner, Dmeeks was the enforcer. Them three alone made $30,000 a day by themselves.
The money brought drama in the Flenory household, Charles their father wasn’t feeling the fast lifestyle and didn’t want their family falling victim to it, which unfortunately they did.
Charles and Meech, Southwest T, Terry Jr., and Lucille Flenory.
E.D. had the 50 Boyz operating as a family, essentially they were given the trio’s relationship prior to meeting E.D. . They went out to eat every Sunday, and had each other’s backs.
T, Dmeeks & Meech.
E.D. taught Meech and Terry everything they know about the streets, giving them full control over their areas with Meech having to check in when necessary. This took heat off of E.D. as he speaks about this openly today.
E.D. gave them the name 50 Boyz because everything they sold was for $50 and up, so the name stuck.
As in the show they made their money in Ecorse, which caused friction with other crews. Their biggest issue was Layton Simon, who y’all know as Lamar in the show. Layton Simon was a lunatic.
Layton wanted to gain control of his territory after leaving a psych ward in the 80’s, his issues with the 50 Boyz went on for years. Meech and Terry were gaining popularity, also outsmarting Layton in the process.
E.D. was who other groups had issues with, but The 50 Boyz were the face, so the static was brought to them instead. Such as when T got shot in the eye, they never found out who actually shot him.
T in his Benz that you seen on Episode 4 that made Charles sick to his stomach.
E.D. groomed the 50 Boyz to become their own bosses. Encouraging them to one day do their own thing when he couldn’t keep up any longer.
Lamar, Southwest T, Reggie, Meech and E.D.
Because of the beef with Layton, Meech and Terry decided to leave Detroit. Meeks decided to stay behind, and took over by building his own crew. Meeks made over 1.5 million on his bike according to him.
Cory one of their lieutenants, Dmeeks, and Terry.
Meech and Terry would eventually go on and get a connection to the Cartel, which is where the second part of their lives began post-Detroit. Meech would run Atlanta, and Terry would take things over on the West Coast.
Will Smith caught an assault charge in the days following his Grammy win in 1989, after a confrontation with record promoter William Hendricks.
Hendricks planned on pursuing a lawsuit, until his son Sheldon got kidnapped by JBM. Hendricks didn’t know that Will was close friends with deceased JBM lieutenant and leader Leroy “Bucky” Davis.
Thread Below @_ValTown_
Will would hang out in Philadelphia even as he rose to fame, and was often seen with another close friend Charlie Mack. Charlie was heavy in the streets in Philly during the 80’s and became a Hip-Hop pioneer after being convinced by Jazzy Jeff to leave the streets.
Charlie’s reputation began to build as he went from Bodyguard, to executive personal assistant to Will. He was instrumental in the discovery of Boyz II Men, pushing Meek Mill further to the masses and etc.
Leroy “Bucky” Davis, & Aaron Jones.
Bucky was an extremely skilled boxer who many believed had the potential to be a star in the sport. JBM stands for Junior Black Mafia, which was one of the strongest organizations in Philly. Bucky would leave Boxing and become Aaron Jones’ protege.
Michael Jackson and Prince were at a James Brown concert in 1983. James called up Michael mid performance to sing. Michael suggested that Prince be brought up as well, knowing Prince was high.
Prince embarrassed himself, then tried to run Michael over in the parking lot.
THREAD BELOW @_ValTown_
Michael was the biggest star in the world by 1983, after the success of Thriller. The following year in 1984 he would win 8 Grammy awards.
James Brown, knowing how influential he was in Michael’s career, calls him up to give his love and recognition in front of a sold-out crowd.
After Michael’s small performance, he and James embrace, and Michael suggests to James to bring Prince on stage.
According to Quincy Jones, Michael knew Prince was there and told James
“Call Prince up, I dare him to follow me.”
Quick facts about 50’s early days growing up on the Southside below.
50 grew up in South Jamaica, Queens, at a time when the Southside was a hot spot for drugs in Queens and the city. Organizations such as Fat Cat’s crew, The Feurtado Brothers, Corley Brothers, & The Supreme Team ran those streets.
50 is known to the neighborhood and family as “Boo-Boo,” a nickname given to him by his mother Sabrina. Sabrina had 50 at 15 years old, and lived in an apartment on South Road around Baisley Pond Park.
As MC Hammer rose to fame, rappers dissed him because of his appearance and music. What they didn’t know, was that Hammer was arguably one of the most dangerous artists in the industry.
Thread below. @_ValTown_
MC Hammer had strong ties in his hometown of Oakland, California. Hammer had family, and friends that were heavy in the streets, and he took care of them as his wealth grew.
MC Hammer mentioned LL’s name in his song “Let’s Get It Started” in 1987. LL responded in 1990, on his track “To da Break of Dawn.”
Hammer’s people pulled up on LL Cool J after one of his shows, and after an argument LL got punched. Later on LL and Hammer hashed out their issues and got back cool.
Will Smith caught an assault charge in the days following his Grammy win in 1989, after a confrontation with record promoter William Hendricks.
Hendricks planned on pursuing a lawsuit, until his son Sheldon got kidnapped by JBM. Hendricks didn’t know that Will was close friends with deceased JBM lieutenant and leader Leroy “Bucky” Davis.
Thread Below @_ValTown_
Will would hang out in Philadelphia even as he rose to fame, and was often seen with another close friend Charlie Mack. Charlie was heavy in the streets in Philly during the 80’s and became a Hip-Hop pioneer after being convinced by Jazzy Jeff to leave the streets.
Charlie’s reputation began to build as he went from Bodyguard, to executive personal assistant to Will. He was instrumental in the discovery of Boyz II Men, pushing Meek Mill further to the masses and etc.
Leroy “Bucky” Davis, & Aaron Jones.
Bucky was an extremely skilled boxer who many believed had the potential to be a star in the sport. JBM stands for Junior Black Mafia, which was one of the strongest organizations in Philly. Bucky would leave Boxing and become Aaron Jones’ protege.